Friday, July 26, 2013

July 24, 2013: Set Stalking: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Date: July 24, 2013Event: Set Stalking: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles near Wall StreetLocation: New York City, ~Wall StreetCost: FREE Summary: My previous encounter with TMNT was completely by accident. This time, not so much.

Thanks to onlocationvacations.com (they're awesome!) I knew that TMNT was filming in around the Wall Street area for several days during this particular week in July. After my encounter with it in Times Square and having seen some pictures of the Turtles out and about in NYC on other sets, I had high hopes of an actual Turtle encounter. Sadly, while I saw their trailers, I didn't see Turtles. I did see Megan Fox, though. That's something, I suppose. And, let's be honest, I love seeing ANY filming, whether I know anyone actually filming or not! So, here was the experience.

As I said, I pretty much loving watching anything being filmed and so a sight like the one above: a street lined with trailers, well that pretty much gets me interested in what might be around the corner. It also, of course, gets me interested on who is in those trailers.

Now, for those that don't see these trailers on a fairly regular basis, the thing that always amuses me the most is the fact that the name of the occupant (the character name, usually) is simply slapped on the door with some masking tape. The glamor of Hollywood doesn't quite read the door of the trailer. And I hope that never ends. Because, as I said, it brings me much amusement. Anyway, I took a stroll down this street and read the various names on the doors. As I said, I saw that all the turtles where there...

Donatello!

Leonardo!

Michaelangelo!

But then it started getting odd... Rodrigo Esteban Coranado IV?

And...wow, I guess this is a high occupancy trailer.

Okay... Mary Poppins?! What? LOL

After that little jaunt (which was worth the price of admission all by itself), I started looking for the actual set. Then I spied this...way down the street.

Bright lights from a single source usually equal active filming. I increased my speed and headed in that direction. And I was not led astray, this did appear to be where the active set was.

I, like the good citizen and set stalker that I am, followed all directions from the production assistants and found a place to watch the proceedings where I would not be in the way or in the shot. And, let me tell you. I WAS NOT ALONE!! Look at this crowd that had gathered! I have to believe everyone was there to see Megan Fox (who, I discovered, was the actress in the scene they were about to film). In the picture below, do you see the blue awning that says "Hair Styling"? That's where they were filming. Everyone in the foreground is lookie-loos (like me! lol)

Now, one of the things I like about watching filming is that I get to see how much goes into even a simple little scene. In this scene, the Megan Fox character interviews a small girl. I couldn't hear a thing so that's all I know about the scene. But I loved watching the progression of how it was filmed.

In the first take, Megan Fox stood on the sidewalk and then crouched on the side walk in front of the girl as girl pointed and the cameras rolled...

But, I guess that didn't work for the director. The difference in height between the girl and the Megan Fox character, perhaps, was too much. So, in the second take, that character stood on the sidewalk but then when she went to crouch, she first stepped up onto this small platform. Below, you can see the director also getting precise about where he wants the little girl to be pointing.

I guess that was an improvement but not quite perfect for in subsequent takes, the Fox character stood and then crouched on that small platform...

After several takes this way, they apparently had gotten what they wanted and there was a break. Megan Fox chilled with an iced treat of some sort and the other actress cooled down with a little hand-held fan...

But, as I needed to get back to work and nothing much was going on as they reset cameras and whatever else they do, I decided it was time to head out. But, when I see TMNT, I'll remember that I saw this scene filmed. And that's another reason I love seeing filming -- sooo much fun to then see the final product!